Game - Sunday 2nd July 2006 v Redlands

[Wayne Michel]

Sunday 2^nd July: As reported in the Redlands Daily Facts Monday July 3, 2006.

Staff writer Vanessa D Overbeck.

REDLANDS- The Brisbane Expos’2006 tour of Redlands closed on a high note for the Australians and Americans alike, but it was the Redlanders who came up with the big victories.

On the final day of the 5 day series the under 16’s Redlands host team defeated the Aussies 8-7 with a nail biter finish. Their final victory put them 3-2 ahead in the series while their counterparts, the under 18 team, also took it down to the line, earning its first victory in the series for a 1-1-3 finish.

“It was definitely a fun series, I’m proud of all my guys’” said the under 18’s head coach T Rivero.

The Australian coaches and players also enjoyed their stay in the “Jewel of the Inland Empire” regardless of the final outcome of the series.

“It was a competitive series. We have two guys with their arms in plaster. That side is always a downer, but Redlands is the important part. We’ve formed a lot of friendships here, Redlands is always good to us,” said Australian program head coach Greg Morriss.

Morriss was especially proud of his under 18’s team which won its first series in several years, he said. However there were victories all around Sunday as the Brian Jimenez Award was given to the Australian and Redlands players who most exhibited the values of the program. One player was selected from each team and the Jimenez family was on hand to deliver the memorial award. Under-16 left fielder Ban Nielsen and under-18 catcher Ryan Arnold earned the awards for the host teams.

“Ben is a good kid that goes out and tries all the time, he’s not a ‘give up’ kind of guy. He’s not afraid to give it a shot and compete,” Rivero said.

Nielsen played baseball at Redlands High School this year as a freshman, while fellow recipient Arnold played on the Varsity team.

“Ryan is a good all-round kid. He has great leadership on the baseball team,” Rivero said.

Tim Shaw earned the honor for the under 16 Expos, while short stop Tom Pascoe stepped up for the under 18 team unexpectedly picking up the Jimenez award for the older crowd.

“I thought I was going to play for the 16’s but I got pulled up” Pascoe said, “It’s a great honor. One of my brothers won it as well. It’s an honor winning it my first time on the trip.”

Morriss said Pascoe’s play greatly contributed to the under 18 Expos’ victory and he expects the talented infielder to work his way up to the college level.

“I look for him to play college baseball,” Morriss said, “ Without Pascoe playing like he did along with the other guys, we wouldn’t have come close to winning.”

The Australian head coach also expects great things from the young Shaw.

“He’s a good kid. I’ve seen him come through the program as a young player.” Morriss said . “He’s very talented and now he just needs to believe in him self a little bit. He’ll come back next year and play even better.”

For Shaw it was about the experience, the great baseball found in Redlands and the friends he made on and off the team.

“These are a bunch of good guys and I just went out there and played to my ability and I came out with the award.” Shaw said. “There were a couple more hits I wanted to get, but I think I did my part for the team. I set a good example off the field as well. I’d definitely come back to make sure the next tour is just as good.”

In Sunday’s match up the less than 16 host team trailed the Australians 0-2 going into the third inning, then the lead proceeded to repeatedly change hands right up to the last out. The host team picked up 4 runs in the third inning, capitalizing on a lead off double to Drew Raffner, followed by a single to Connor MacRunnell and four consecutive walks.

However Redlands saw its 4-2 lead disappear in the top of the fourth thanks to an Australian double followed by a single and a couple of walks and errors. The Aussies regained the lead 6-4going into the bottom of the inning.

The young Redlanders rallied back, tying the game at 6 with walks to Justin Hotchner and Kevin Martin, followed by clutch RBI singles hit by Clark Hubbard and Nielsen.

Not to be outdone the Aussies took back the lead in the fifth with a hit batter driven home off a double to centre field.

With the time limit rapidly approaching, the under 16 Redlanders had one final opportunity in the fifth to snag the victory. Wes Cottier earned a leadoff triple, scoring on a balk for the go-ahead run. Matt Kilefner had the honor of scoring the winning run. Hit by a pitch, Kilefner worked his way around the bases, finally scoring on a passed ball for the 8-7 victory.

After a slow start to the series, the under 18 host team came out with a vengeance for the final game. They jumped ahead of the Aussies 4-1, picking up 2 runs in the first innings- 2 more in the second to the Australians one.

The Australians scored one more in the fifth inning to make it 4-2, but their mighty bats were calm most of the game and it looked like the Redlanders were going to sneak past them – until the Expos bats came alive in the sixth. Three back to back singles and a couple of errors later the host team was down 5-4.

With one final at bat, the host team was determined to manufacture the runs necessary to manufacture the victory. Second baseman Victor Marebella (2-for-3) started the innings off with a double. A fielders choice later, Mychael Rivero (1-for-2), representing the winning run, was on first. With one out, Marebella scored on third baseman Justin Appelgate’s (2-for-2) single to left field. Rivero crossed home plate on a passed ball.

Up 6-5 the under 18 host team had to get through one more Aussie at bat. Jonathan Jimenez picked up two quick strikeouts before walking the go ahead run. However Marabella ended the game with a routine grounder thrown to first base for the final out and victory.

“We came out the first two games and we were a little intimidated. The third game we played to a tied score then had a bad break and ended up tied. The forth game we had a couple miscues and a few bad throws and we went down. Today the guys came out and we played tough,” Rivero said. “They made some good plays when we needed them, It did get a little tight towards the end, but when we needed it the team came through.”

Under 18 host team first baseman Ben Hyland also hit 1-for-3, while Arnold hit 1-for-2.

Under 16

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Expos	0	2	0	4	1					7
Redlands	0	0	4	2	2					8

Under 18

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Expos	1	0	0	0	1	3				5
Redlands	2	2	0	0	0	2				6